Four-horse balance-hitch.



w. H. JOSEPH.

FOUR-HORSE BALANCE HITCH. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2, 1911.

7 1,087, 3, Patentd Febl 17,1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. H. JOSEPH. FOUR-HORSE BALANCE HITCH. APPLICATION FILED snrwl'z, 1911.

'2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

V dygg Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

' var/2%?" 7 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. JOSEPH, OF TUSCOLA, ILLINGES, ASSIGNOR TO SEARS, ROEBUOK AND COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLTNOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FOUR-HORSE BALANCE-HITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

Application filed September 2,. 1911. SerialNo. 647,421.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. JOSEPH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tuscola, in the county of Douglas and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fonrllorse Balance-Hitches, of which thefllowing is a specification, reference being had to the ac-' companying drawings.

My invention relates to a four-horse balance hitch particularly adapted for two-row cultivators and similar wheeled vehicles. Its object is to providea new and improved hitch in which the horses are relieved of the entire weight and by which side jerking and whipping are avoided,

It has for another object the providing of such a hitch which .will aid the driver in guiding the cultivator and will act very sensit-ively with the slightest ressure of the foot on either beam by the river.

It has for another object the providing of such a hitch which will cause the shovels to run at a set depth so that the will not vary in their depth by any up an down oscillation of the tongue. Paccomplish this ob ject as illustrated in thedrawings and as posed of beams or tongues'78, a cross-bar 9 secured to the. front ends of the beams 7 and 8, and a cross-bar 10 secured in any suitable manner', as by bolts 11, near the rear ends of the beams 7 and 8.- The rear ends of the beams 7 and 8 are bolted, or otherwise secured, to the cross-bar 5.

12-12 and 13-13 indicate braces, the rear ends of which are bolted, or otherwise secured, to the rear crossbar 4 of the cultivator fram-e. The beams bend forward at their forward ends so that the braces 12 at their forward ends lie close along the side bolts or in other suitable manner; and similarly the forward ends of the braces 13 are secured to the sides of the beam 8. As is best shown in Fig. 2, the braces 12 and 13 are of truss shape in order to st-repgthen the structure and connection with the cultivator frame.

'14 indicates blocks, which span the dis:

: tance between the cross-bar 5' of the cultivator frame and-the lowest portion of the trusslike structure of the braces 12 and 13 :11151d ire secured thereto by suitable bolts, as

17 indicates a' neck-yoke,'which is. pivotal-ly connected to the forward crossbar 9 of the frame.

' 18 indicates a cross-bar, to which is secured a suitable block 19 whichis secured inposition by braces 20. The block 19 is provided with a sleeve 21, through which passes a caster-wheel support 22 and which is ad-* justably mounted therein by meansof a set- The lower end of the casterscrew 23. p 7 wheel sup ort 22 extends diagonally downward and ackward and is providedwith journal '24 at its end upon which is mounted acaster-wheel 2 5. v

The caster-wheel, adjusted properly by the adjustment of the caster-wheel su port 22, supports the forward end of the rame and holds it.- rigidly at a suitable height,.

whereby the horses are relieved from the weight of the neck-yoke, and a firm structure is produced which, preventing any upward or downward oscillation of'the fr me, will carry the cultivator beams 26 1 ith their shovels 27 at an even depth in the ground when they are once adjusted in the usual manner for plowing. The cultivator beams 26 are only conventionally illustrated and are shown as broken away in order not to encumber the drawings with unnecessary'illustration, as they maylbe of any well-known type and form of themselves no part of my present invention. It willbe understood, of course, that they are carried by the cultivator frame in any well-known approved manner.

29 indicates an evener bar, which is centrally pivoted by a pivot, as 30, to the rear cross-bar 10 of the frame 6.

31 indicates stay-chains, which are secured at one end to the evener bar 29 and. at the other end to the braces 1213, and, as is best shown in Fig. 2, the chains have sufii- (firm slack to permitthe evener to oscillate through a limited pivot.

32 indicates doubletrees, ally mounted in the usual manner near the ends of the evener 29. 33 indicates swingletrees, which are pivotally connected in the usual manner to, theends of the doubletrees 32.

It will be noted that by means of the above-described devices I have provided a hitch which Will cause the shovels to runat a. uniform depth, becauseany up and down oscillation of the frame is prevented by reasun of its running'at its front end upon a caster-wheel which preserves the front end at a uniform fixed distance from the ground. 'It therefore relieves the necks of the horses from the Weight of the frame. Inasmuch as the tongues are supported by the casterwheel and there is no Weight upon the cultivator beams and shovels except their own weight, this construction allows the cultivator shovelsto be moved more readily from which are pivot-- alrc horizontally upon its side to side by the pressure of the foot of the driver applied in the usual manner.

It will be obvious that I provide a straight high hitch for the horses'which does not interfere with the guiding of the cultivator, and a device is provided by which the ma chine may be very readily turned in the field.

That Which I claim as my invention, and desire .to'secure by Letters Patent, is,

A draft gear for agricultural implements comprising a wheeled frame, a pair of for- Wardly extending bars secured at the rear to' said frame, an evener and draft devices carried adjacent to the rear end portions of said bars, a neck bars, adjacent to caster wheel mounted between said bars near their forward ends for supporting the same, whereby the caster Wheel does not interfere with the team.

WILLIAM H. J OSEPHQ Witnesses:

- R. J. N. JOHNSON,

W. Tnos. COLEMAN.

yoke supported by said their front ends, and a 4 

